1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for cleaning the rim of a toilet bowl and the seat of a toilet.
This apparatus is invented for cleaning the rim of a toilet bowl and the seat of a toilet in a home washroom or in a public washroom. It may be used by a toilet user when necessary and be used by a janitor for maintenance purpose.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In ordinary life, the rim of a toilet bowl is easy to collect some urine drops, hair, and some other residues. The toilet seat is also easy to get dirty. When a next toilet user comes and faces this kind of situation, usually the user wants to wipe the dirty things off before the user feels comfortable to use the toilet.
Usually people either tear of a piece of toilet paper to wipe off the contaminations with their bare hands, or put on gloves to do that. Obviously there is a risk to make their hands dirty if using bare hands. However it is not convenient to put on gloves to clean the seat and/or the rim of a toilet just before they are in a hurry to use it. Gloves, toilet bowel brushes, and sponges are the common tools that are often used in cleaning a toilet. They are good for a janitor or a housewife who is generally responsible for maintaining toilets periodically. But these tools are not good for a toilet user. Firstly they are inconvenient for cleaning the rim and the seat of a toilet. Secondly the toilet bowel brushes and sponges themselves may be contaminated because of repeatedly being used.
Disposable toilet seat covers have been used to prevent a user from directly contacting with the toilet seat surface. Disposable cleaning gloves are good for cleaning the rim and the seat of a toilet. However both of them are more expensive consuming methods. When the seat surface is wet, a disposable toilet seat cover does not work very well.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,243, a Toilet Cleaning Device with Cleaning Pad is invented. This device is complex, thus it costs more to make it. And it requires using a pair of disposable pads each time, which will cost even more.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,379, a Toilet Rim Cleaning Apparatus is invented. This apparatus can be used to clean the rim of a toilet bowel. No information shows that it has the function of cleaning the seat of a toilet.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,509,693 B1, a Toilet Cleaning Apparatus is invented. This apparatus is actually a toilet seat with a built-in electrical motor. This built-in motor provides a function of automatically cleaning the rim of a toilet bowel. But its cleaning function does not include the seat of a toilet. And the cost of this apparatus is high.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,774, a Self Cleaning Toilet is invented. This invention changed the design of a toilet bowel. The newly designed toilet bowel has a self-cleaning hollow rim. The contaminations on the top surface of the rim are rinsed during flushing of the toilet. This is a new design for a toilet bowel. It is not a cleaning apparatus for commonly used existing toilets.
Traditional methods and existing apparatus can not meet people's day-to-day needs in this situation, where a toilet user needs to clean either the rim or the seat, sometimes both of them with a convenient and inexpensive tool before the user uses the toilet. The present invention aims to help people to deal with this unavoidable and unpleasant situation easily and quickly. It presents a convenient and inexpensive apparatus for cleaning the rim and/or the seat of a toilet effectively. With this apparatus a user can keep his/her hand clean when he/she wipes the rim and the seat of a toilet.